The Australian legal system is rife with extremely specialised terminology that a lot of people could possibly have trouble understanding. When you, or someone near to you has been faced with a criminal charge, it’s vital that you comprehend the legal terminology that’s planning to surface in legal documents and within a trial. Here we’ve provided a summary of many of the more confusing terms and definitions often used in the Australian criminal justice system.
Acquittal:
This term is utilized in the event the magistrate, jury or appeal court realize that a person is not liable of the charges against him/her.
Affidavit:
An itemized declaration made under oath before a notary public or another authorised officer. The individual who has written the declaration claims that the contents are, on the best of their knowledge, true.
Appeal:
To generate an appeal is usually to take a case with a higher court in order to challenge a conclusion produced by less court or tribunal. For instance, an appeal from a decision of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia may be built to the federal government Court. The person who appeals is called the ‘appellant’. However, it really is important to note that not all decisions could be appealed.
Committal Hearing:
It is a hearing of all evidence that props up the charge in the lower court with a magistrate who decides when there is sufficient evidence for your case to attend trial. In a few committal hearings, there can be witnesses who will be forced to provide evidence.
Complainant:
Here is the term used in the court to refer to the victim of the crime committed.
Defendant:
Here is the term used in the court to refer to the one that has faced with a criminal offence. This term is interchangeable with ‘the accused’.
Deposition:
It is a typed copy of the evidence recorded in the court.
Exhibits:
All evidence (besides evidence supplied by the witnesses) forced to present the situation on the court, such as photographs, clothing, documents or other things that may be tightly related to the situation.
Indictable Offence:
A significant Brisbane lawyer that’s commonly heard inside a higher court before the court and a jury. Less serious indictable offences, referred to as summary offences, are usually heard inside a Local Court.
Indictment:
It is a formal written accusation charging you aren’t an offence that’s intended to be tried inside a higher court.
Jurisdiction:
Here is the extent of legal authority/power of the Court to utilize regulations. For instance, in Australia the federal government Court has jurisdiction under a lot more than 150 Acts of the Commonwealth Parliament.
Mediation:
It is a process whereby an impartial vacation, referred to as the mediator, aids in causing an agreement or agreed settlement without requiring the choice of the Court.
Plaintiff:
Here is the term used to refer to anyone or party who initiates a civil action. To put it differently, this can be the person or party who brings an incident contrary to the defendant, and seeks punishment for your person or people that committed the crime.
Plea:
This is when the accused person (the defendant) tells a legal court if they are guilty you aren’t accountable for the charge against them. When the accused pleads guilty, an effort will not happen and also the case proceeds with a sentencing hearing, which determines the punishment for your crime.
Subpoena:
A subpoena compels the appearance of someone in a trial in order to testify and/or produce documents. It is a court order, and if it really is disobeyed, the disobedient person might be in contempt of court.
Voir Dire:
It is a legal argument regarding the admissibility of the certain piece of evidence in the court. In the case that this argument should happen, the witness and also the jury are sent of court until it finishes.
For those who have any queries regarding a criminal charge in Brisbane, please don’t hesitate to get hold of us. Here at Guest Lawyers, we specialise in criminal law and will be happy to assist you with any queries or concerns. Our aim is to supply honest, respectful and simple to know legal counsel in order to reduce the stress linked to your litigation.
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